Horse Racing

Velazquez Using Del Mar as a Springboard for Santa Anita


jockey colony at Del Mar is constantly developing. New riders arrive every year, while some leave for other laps. But not every year a Hall of Fame equestrian joins the ranks. This fall, the number of inductees in the jockeys room in Del Mar was increased by one with the addition of John Velazquez, a longtime New York equestrian star.

Velazquez, 50, joins fellow travelers Mike Smith, Victor Espinoza and Kent Desormeaux, though he’s not exactly a stranger to Del Mar. Velazquez, who has been riding since 1990, won 17 races at the seaside oval. His biggest win at Del Mar was in 2017 when he won the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) on board Forever unrestrained and Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1T) with Approve the world .

This winter, Velazquez plans to cycle full-time in Santa Anita . Parkand he hopes to use the fall meet at Del Mar as a springboard.

“I wanted to start here so the trainers and owners know that I will be here in the winter,” said Velazquez. “Hopefully I’ll get a chance to ride some really good horses here and keep me going through the winter.”

Velazquez has been on some of the best. He rode three Kentucky Derby races presented by the winners of Woodford Reserve (G1): Real (2020), Always dreaming (2017), and Animal Kingdom (2011). (Another Derby he has guided to finish first in 2021, Medina spirit was subsequently disqualified because of a positive test result after the race.)

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He got another 19th Breeders’ Cup win this year when he received Malathaat tune in to win this year’s Distaff at Keeneland. He’s second to Mike Smith’s 27-time Breeders’ Cup winner. In total, Velazquez has won more than 6,400 races, nearly 700 of which are stakes and over 200 1st place.

So it’s no surprise that two-time champion Eclipse Awards will start Bing Crosby meeting the winners on opening day, but Velazquez insists there’s a learning curve at every track. .

“Everything is like anything, you have to adapt to wherever you go,” says Velazquez. “Every track has different turns and positions of poles. You have to get used to it and do your homework, and hopefully you get some nice horses and they do what you want to do. I got lucky (on opening day); The horses run very well.

His experience with horses dates back to his days as a kid growing up in Puerto Rico.

“I grew up around horses,” Velazquez said, “and I met Julio Garcia when I was 14 years old. He’s the top racer in Puerto Rico. That got me interested in racing.

Velazquez arrived in New York in 1990, where another Hall of Fame racer, Angel Cordero Jr., recruited him and served long as his agent. Not long after, “Johnny V” was winning graded bet races and making a name for himself. But don’t ask him who his favorite horse is. There have been too many.

Velazquez said: “I am very fortunate to have ridden so many good horses. “That’s what has kept me here and given me the career I’ve had so far.”

This press release has been edited by BloodHorse Staff for content and style.

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